"It's Fruit! That's much better than Sugar."

When asked "What is a healthy diet?" most will respond, "a diet with lots of fruit and vegetables!" Well, that is half true!


While that is much better than the typical North American diet, loaded with processed foods, sodium, and "pseudo-foods," too much fruit can cause the same imbalances as having too much processed sugar.

Many will say, "But fruit is healthy because it is naturally high in anti-oxidants." That is also true, but often the damage of too much sugar outweighs the benefit of anti-oxidants with massive fruit consumption. We will do much better to eat dark leafy greens and get a large amount of anti-oxidants, fiber, and minerals in a low sugar way.

There is as always an exception to the rule; if your blood sugar is stable and you have already eliminated processed fats, processed sugars and grains, the body can then handle the sugar in fruit quite well. In fact, it is how nature intended us to eat!

I have been mentioning this concept in the clinic when people complain that they are feeling sluggish, foggy-minded, and tired. After examining their diet a lot of people realize they are consuming more sugar than they realized through increased fruit consumption. Eat healthy and remember to eat more "greens" than fruit.

Here is a link where you can get to know how much sugar is in the fruit that you are consuming.

Carb Counter

~Think Vitality!~

Couch Time Improves Marathon Training

Looking towards the fall, the Royal Victoria marathon is slowly approaching. In endurance training the 'old' idea was more is better. That has been shown to be a good way to injure yourself and over train!

One author pointed out, "If exercise makes you stronger, then how come you are tired at the end of a run?" The reason is exercise doesn't make you stronger - proper rest does.


So build some rest time into your training schedule and plan on tapering 2-3 weeks before race day to run your fastest time ever!

Here is an article discussing the importance of tapering.


The Globe and Mail- Couch Time Improves Marathon Training




~Think Vitality!~

How much Vitamin XYZ Should I Take?

Have you ever wondered how much calcium, zinc, or fiber you should be having a day?

Here is a great resource that you may find helpful. This interactive form can help you find out how many macro-nutrients, minerals, calories, and vitamins you should be consuming based on your body, body mass index, activity level and age.

Click here!

Did you know that most of the recommended dietary allowances of vitamins and minerals followed by Americans and Canadians were actually established at the time of World War 2 to prevent malnourishment of soldiers and have not been revisited since.(ref. Fuhrman)?

So, when reading nutritional labels and you see that your food item contains 10% of your daily requirement of a certain vitamin it may not be completely sufficient.

As a general rule you will get the most nourishment from real veggies, fruits, and proteins, just as nature intended it!

http://fnic.nal.usda.gov/interactiveDRI/


~Think Vitality!~

Meditation as Medication

30 Day Vitality Challenge Day 8

This evening I had the opportunity to watch the documentary Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould up at the University of Victoria. I found it quite fascinating.

Glen Gould was a pianist with considerable talent who reached the height of his performing career at age 31. He was as eccentric as he was talented and resorted to prescription drugs to manage his anxiety. The film minimized the fact that he over used prescription medication which altered both his personality and his health.

While pharmaceuticals do have their place in health and healing we should be very careful not to overuse them especially in situations where equally effective holistic solutions are available. This is particularly true in the area of stress and anxiety. Often changes in diet and lifestyle can help just as much as medication. It's always a good idea to discuss options with your doctor and come up with a plan together.

Meditation and exercise are two activities that can greatly reduce anxiety and calm the mind.

With that being said, on day 8 before starting my day in clinic I did 25 minutes of natural breathing meditation. You would be surprised at how both calming and energizing simple breathing can be. This will be one of the topics discussed in the upcoming Qi gong workshop. Until then, do at least one thing from the list and ...

~Think Vitality!~

The Truth About Sugar

Vitality Challenge Day 7

I did my part today! After a kendo session I enjoyed an evening ocean walk at a brisk pace. Ahh Victoria! I also avoided sugar throughout the day making sure to check labels.

We all know, or are beginning to know, that we should avoid sugar in our diet. Whether it is white, brown, demerra, yellow, purple or green - sugar is sugar! It affects the body in the same way - causing inflammation and oxidation.

As part of the 30 Day Vitality Challenge you'll notice that eliminating sugar is number one on the list. Avoiding sugar can make such a huge impact on your body and your mind.

But... you don't have to take my word for it! Below is a lecture that has had thousands of views on youtube called "The Bitter Truth About Sugar." It is a little long but the main point is that modern day illnesses are largely caused by the massive increase in sugar consumption over the last few decades.




or watch here:
Sugar: The Bitter Truth



~Think Vitality!~

Cellular Damage

Well, it is official! The collective modern world is starting to suffer the wrath of technology and the machines are rising against us!

In a recent report California physicians have noted a sharp increase in the appearance of a one sided facial rash that extends from roughly the ear to the chin. Typical treatment includes corticosteroid creams that help reduce redness and swelling.

No, this is not the hostile takeover from super nano-bots rather a dermatitis caused by cell phone use! For some reason I find this amusing! Maybe its because of the sheer oblivion that what we are doing is actually causing harm to ourselves, or maybe because of the simplicity of the cause and the cure.

It is not known for certain but most likely the cause of the ‘cellular damage’ is the nickel used to make cell phones shiny that’s causing the problems. It won’t necessarily affect everyone but if you have skin that turns green when wearing inexpensive ‘gold’ then you may have to be careful.

What are we to do avoid using our cell phones? Well, it wouldn’t hurt to not use them directly on our faces because of EMR or electromagnetic radiation. Basically every electrical device gives off EMR and I think in the future we are going to see more complications due to it.

Try using the speaker phone function on your phone- people on the bus will love that! Better yet invest in a hands free wired headset. You eliminate virtually all of the EMR exposure by not being in contact with your phone.

Such is the case with traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture; the simpler the cure the better!

~Think Vitality!~